Introductory Psychology 1

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concerned with the links between biology and behavior. Includes psychologists working in neuroscience, behavior genetics, and evolutionary psycholgy.

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biological perspective

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a nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system

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neuron

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a neuron's bushy, branching extensions that receive messages and conduct impulses toward the cell body.

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dendrities

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the neuron extension that passes messages through its branches to other neurons or to muscles or glands

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axon

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a fatty tissue layer segmentally encasing the axons of some neurons; enables vastly greater transmission speed as neural impulses hop from one node to the next.

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myelin sheath

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a neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon.

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action potential

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the level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse.

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threshold

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the junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron. The tiny gap at this junction is called the synaptic gap or synaptic cleft.

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synapse

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chemical messengers that cross the synaptic gaps between neurons. When released by the sending neuron, neurotransmitters travel across the synapse and bind to receptor sites on the receiving neuron, thereby influencing whether that neuron will generate a neural impulse.

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neurotransmitters

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a neurotransmitter's reabsorption by the sending neuron.

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reuptake

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the body's speedy, electrochemical communication network, consisting of all the nerve cells of the peripheral and central nervous system.

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nervous system

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the brain and spinal cord

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central nervous system (CNS)

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the sensory and motor neurons that connect the central nervous system to the rest of the body.

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peripheral nervous system (PNS)

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bundled axons that form neural "cables" connecting the central nervous system with muscles, glands and sense organs

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nerves

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neurons that carry incoming information from the sensory receptors to the brain and spinal cord.

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sensory neurons

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neurons that carry outgoing information from the brain and spinal cord to muscles and glands

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motor neurons

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neurons within the brain and spinal cord that communicate internally and intervene between the sensory inputs and motor outputs

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interneurons

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the division of the peripheral nervous system that controls the body's skeletal muscles. Also called the skeletal nervous system

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somatic nervous system

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the part of the peripheral nervous system that controls the glands and the muscles of the internal organs. Its sympathetic division arouses; its parasympathetic division calms.

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autonomic nervous system (ANS)

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the division of the autonomic nervous system that arouses the body, mobilizing its energy in stressful situations.

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sympathetic nervous system

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the division of the autonomic nervous system that calms the body conserving its energy.

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parasympathetic nervous system

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a simple, automatic response to a sensory stimulus, such as a knee-jerk response.

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reflex

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the body's "slow" chemical communication system; a set of glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream.

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endocrine system

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chemical messengers that are manufactured by the endocrine glands, travel through the bloodstream and affect other tissues.

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hormones

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a pair of endocrine glands that sit just above the kidneys and secrete hormones that help arouse the body in times of stress.

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adrenal glands

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the endocrine system's most influential gland. Under the influence of hypothalamus, the pituitary gland regulates growth and controls other endocrine glands.

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pituitary gland